March 15 2012

8:46 PM

Sedgefield Country Club is switching to Bermuda grass on
its putting surfaces.

Sedgefield Country Club, the host course for the final
regular-season event of the PGA TOUR season, is replacing its
bent-grass greens with Champion Bermuda greens.

According to a story in the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, the
installation project will begin on May 14 and the Bermuda greens
will be in place for the Wyndham Championship starting the week of
Aug. 13.

Bermuda grass is more heat-tolerant than bent-grass greens and
should toughen up the course, since the greens will not require as
much maintenance to keep them soft. Last year, Webb Simpson won
with a score of 18 under.

Rocky Brooks, the head pro at Sedgefield, told the newspaper
that several PGA TOUR pros had wondered when the course would
switch to Bermuda greens.

"I talked to one player who said if the greens are converted,
the winning score might not reach double figures," Brooks told the
Salem-Journal.

Simpson said he welcomes the switch to Bermuda grass.

"With Bermuda greens, Sedgefield becomes one of the great golf
courses on the PGA TOUR," Simpson told the newspaper. "Even in the
heat of August, the greens will be hard and fast, and that means
the course will play much tougher.

"I think it's safe to say that the days of 20-under par are
over."

Course architect Kris Spence, who is in charge of the project,
said other course changes include adding another pin location to
the second green, and moving some bunkers on the two par-5 holes,
No. 5 and No. 15.

"I'm really excited about this because the green contours will
not change," said Spence, who redesigned Sedgefield in 2007 to
bring back more of the old-style Donald Ross layout.